Seal Beach shooting: Insurers sue suspect

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, listens as Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas asks for the death penalty. Dekraai was arraigned on a grand jury indictment Jan. 18 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on eight felony counts of murder plus the special circumstances of committing multiple murders and one felony count of attempted murder. The special circumstances allegation qualifies Dekraai for a possible death sentence if he is convicted at trial. He is charged in the Seal Beach beauty salon killings and the attempted murder of a ninth in the largest mass slaying in Orange County history.JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SANTA ANA – Seeking to avoid liability, two insurance companies have filed lawsuits against a man charged with killing eight people at a Seal Beach beauty salon, as well as the families of some of the victims.

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, of Huntington Beach faces a possible death sentence if convicted of the special circumstances of multiple counts of murder in the 2011 mass shooting at Salon Meritage. His trial is set for March 25.

Family members of four of the people killed, including the parents of Dekraai's ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, have pending civil wrongful death lawsuits against Dekraai in Orange County Superior Court.

Hairstylist Lisa Powers, who was not shot, has sued Dekraai seeking damages stemming from witnessing the shootings at the salon where she worked, according to court documents.

The insurers – Safeco Insurance Company of America in federal court and the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club in Superior Court – are essentially seeking the same thing: a court declaration relieving them of any obligation to defend or indemnify Dekraai in the five civil lawsuits.

At the time of the 2011 mass killings, Dekraai had two landlord protection policies with Safeco for rental properties in Lakewood and a homeowner's policy for his Huntington Beach home with the Interinsurance Exchange.

The companies assert in court documents that their policies do not cover any liability of Dekraai's in the civil lawsuits, in part because intentional acts by an insured are excluded.

"Safeco contends that the claims asserted in the lawsuits are not covered, or even potentially covered, under the policies," the company's lawsuit says.

Lawsuits by insurance carriers seeking what's called "declaratory relief" are relatively common because the companies have broad obligations to defend and indemnify the insured. The liability portion of many homeowners' policies potentially also cover incidents away from home in which the insured is found to be negligent.

Attorney Ed Susolik, a partner in the law firm of Callahan & Blaine in Santa Ana who is representing two families in their civil lawsuits against Dekraai, says the "real end game" is the insurance companies could be held responsible for up to a total $200 million judgment, a payout of about $25 million for each of the eight victims.

"If they don't settle, they risk having to cover everything," he said. "In my opinion this is a risk they're not gonna take, but I want them to take that risk."

If the companies choose to settle, the Interinsurance Exchange would pay a total $500,000 and Safeco $600,000 for all victims, per policy limits, said Susolik, who plans to file a motion to stay the insurance carriers' cases until after the criminal and civil trials.

In 2007, Callahan & Blaine secured $50 million from Dana Point in a civil lawsuit settlement, the largest private injury case payout in Orange County history in the case of two San Clemente women who became quadriplegics after a hit-and-run accident on Coast Highway.

One scenario under which the insurance carriers could be found liable is if Dekraai is found to be legally insane by a jury, which would mean his actions could be viewed as unintentional.

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Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, listens as Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas asks for the death penalty. Dekraai was arraigned on a grand jury indictment Jan. 18 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on eight felony counts of murder plus the special circumstances of committing multiple murders and one felony count of attempted murder. The special circumstances allegation qualifies Dekraai for a possible death sentence if he is convicted at trial. He is charged in the Seal Beach beauty salon killings and the attempted murder of a ninth in the largest mass slaying in Orange County history. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Scott Dekraai, left, who is accused of killing his ex-wife and seven others in a massacre in a crowded salon in Seal Beach, is seen with his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Scott Sanders, in Superior Court on Oct. 24, 2011. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Deputy Public Defender Scott Sanders, right, talks briefly with his client Scott Dekraai in Superior Court last year. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Scott Dekraai is led into Superior Court in Santa Ana earlier this year for a pretrial hearing regarding whether to open grand jury transcripts. MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, left, and Acting Seal Beach Police Chief Tim Olson lay out the criminal complaint against Scott Evan Dekraai during a news conference Oct. 14, 2011. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Photo composite shows the people who were killed during a shooting at a salon in Seal Beach on Oct. 12, 2011. On the top row, from left, are Michelle Fournier, Michele Fast, David Caouette and Christy Lynn Wilson. Bottom row, from left, are Laura Lee Webb Elody, Lucia Bernice Kondas, Victoria Ann Buzzo and Randy Lee Fannin. AP

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